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Keith Flint

Keith Charles Flint (17 September 1969 – 4 March 2019) was an English vocalist, dancer and motorcycle racer. He was best known for his work with the electronic dance act the Prodigy. Starting out as a dancer, he became the frontman of the group and performed on the group's two UK number one singles, "Firestarter" and "Breathe" both released in 1996. He was also the lead singer of his own band Flint. He owned a motorcycle racing team, Team Traction Control, which won three Isle of Man TT races in 2015 and competed in the British Supersport Championship.

Keith Charles Flint (17 September 1969– 4 March 2019) was an English vocalist, dancer and motorcycle racer. He was best known for his work with the electronic dance act the Prodigy. Starting out as a dancer, he became the frontman of the group and performed on the group's two UK number one singles, "Firestarter" and "Breathe" both released in 1996. He was also the lead singer of his own band Flint. He owned a motorcycle racing team, Team Traction Control, which won three Isle of Man TT races in 2015 and competed in the British Supersport Championship.

Music career

In the late 1980s Flint met DJLiam Howlett at local rave club the Barn in Braintree and said he liked Howlett's taste in music.[6] After receiving a mixtape from Howlett, Flint came back with great enthusiasm, insisting that Howlett should be playing his tracks up on stage and that Flint, along with friend Leeroy Thornhill, would dance to them.[7] Flint, Howlett and Thornhill were joined by MC Maxim Reality and became a successful electronic dance act called the Prodigy.

In 1996, just prior to the release of the Prodigy’s third album, Flint moved from being a dancer for the group to being it’s frontman when he performed vocals on the hit single "Firestarter", the accompanying video showcasing Flint's new and soon iconic punk look.[8] This trend continued with the next Prodigy single "Breathe", on which Flint sang lead vocals, with Maxim backing him up.[9]

The Prodigy album Invaders Must Die was released on 23 February 2009 and featured vocals by Flint on multiple tracks.[13] Flint released a single titled "War" with dubstep artist Caspa in 2012.[14]

Flint experimented with solo projects, including his punk rock bands Flint and Clever Brains Fryin'. Flint's debut album, Device #1, was cancelled before its release, leaving "Aim4" as their only single to be commercially released.[15]

Personal life

Flint dated television presenter Gail Porter; the couple split in 2001.[18][3] In 2006 Flint married Japanese DJ Mayumi Kai who performed as DJ Gedo Super Mega Bitch.[3][19][20] The couple were reported to be separated at the time of Flint’s death.[3]

Flint had a tattoo on his stomach of the word “Inflicted”, a reference to a lyric in Firestarter.[3] Flint was notoriously difficult on transatlantic flights; on one occasion he had to be restrained from kicking down the door to the cockpit.[3] In contrast, Flint was also a great lover of animals and was an enthusiastic twitcher.[3]

In 2014, he bought and renovated the Leather Bottle pub in Pleshey, Essex and became a popular landlord.[21] Flint kept a jar in which customers were required to put a pound if they made a “firestarter” joke as he lit the pub’s fire.[3] He ended his connection with the pub without explanation in 2017.[22][3]

Flint had lived at a 15th-century Grade-II listed country manor near Dunmow, Essex. He had a small flat track in his back garden, where he rode some of his motorcycles,[23][24] and also kept several dogs and horses at his home.[25]

Death

Flint’s final public performance with the Prodigy was on 5 February 2019 at the Trusts Arena in Auckland, New Zealand.[26] The next scheduled Prodigy performance was Welcome to Rockville on 3 May 2019 in Jacksonville, United States.[27] Two days before his death, Flint had achieved his personal best time in the Chelmsford Parkrun, in which he had been running for the previous three weeks.[28]

On 4 March 2019, Essex Police were called to Flint's home in North End,[29] near Great Dunmow, Essex, where he was found dead.[4] The police did not treat the death as suspicious. Bandmate Liam Howlett wrote in an Instagram post that Flint had committed suicide.[4][9] Later that day, the official band website went black with an announcement of his death[30] and the Prodigy cancelled all scheduled shows,[31] including a booking at the 2019 Glastonbury Festival.[28]

Many tributes highlighted Flint's gentle temperament, illustrating a personal kindness, politeness and generosity that contrasted with his energetic and sometimes aggressive stage persona.[33][36]

Fans used the hashtag 'Firestarter4Number1' on social media in a campaign to try to get the song "Firestarter" to Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart as a mark for respect for Flint and to raise awareness for male suicide in the UK.[37]